Question: Does income averaging apply to rent limits as well as income limits? Yes. Income averaging applies to both income and rent limits. Therefore, if a unit has a designated limit of 80 percent of AMI, the maximum rent level that may be charged to a household in that unit is 30 percent of 80 percent of AMI. Similarly, if a unit has a designated limit of 30 percent of AMI, the maximum rent level that may be charged to a household in that unit is 30 percent of 30 percent of AMI. (Source: NCSHA FAQ Document)

Affordable Housing Development Application Deadlines

The Oklahoma Housing Finance Agency housing development applications were due on Thursday! The State received five HOME, two NHTF, and up to 23 Tax Credit applications. DeBruler clients submitted one NHTF and three Tax credits. OHFA will award funding in September and November. Visit ohfa.org.

Study: Housing Affordability Still the Problem

Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies (JCHS) released, “The State of the Nation’s Housing 2018”. The report examines the state of the housing market in 2018, finding nearly a third of U.S. households (38.1 million) paid more than 30% of their incomes for housing in 2016. More than half (20.8 million) are renters, and fully 80% of renters and 63% of owners making less than $30,000 are cost burdened.

The national median rent rose 20 percent faster than overall inflation between 1990 and 2016, and the median home price rose 41 percent more quickly. While better housing quality accounts for some of the increased costs, higher costs for building materials and labor, limited productivity gains, increased land costs, new regulatory barriers, and growing income inequality all played significant roles as well. Read more.

Oklahoma Alliance on Aging Newsletter

This week was the deadline for articles from volunteers of the Oklahoma Alliance on Aging for their quarterly newsletter. Topics include 2019 Oklahoma State Budget Information, New Board Officers, Advocacy Toolkit, and, the upcoming Senior Safety and Lifestyle Fair, July 24 in Tulsa. Here is a link to the April-June 2018 newsletter.